Marlin has a very good barrel on it's rim fire rifles.That is the largest contributing factor to their accuracy. The down side is that most Marlin rim fire's have an unlovable trigger for serious target shooting. That can be solved with the installation of something on the order of one of these:. The factory 5.5 pound trigger pull is hard to compensate for. The Rifle Basix trigger can cut that figure in half and more.

On the other hand, a squirrel hit with a rifle with the stock trigger will end up the same: dead.

The rifle, properly cared for will outlast you. And few people truly develop skill levels that exceed their rifles abilities. A good buy for the money.

I want this rifle to really practice better shooting habits so that I can shoot my other long guns more accurately, and also for its ammo versatility. That 5.5lb trigger might not be a bad thing for learning better control, you think?